鹊 桥 仙 (Què qiáo xiān) Immortal at the Magpie Bridge
Song Dynasty (AD 960 – AD 1279) by the poet Qin Guan (秦观).
作 者： 秦 观 (Zuò zhĕ: Qín guān)
Translated by: Xu. Yuanchong
Xiān yún nòng qiăo, fēi xīng chuán hèn, yín hàn tiáo tiáo àn dù
纤 云 弄 巧，飞 星 传 恨， 银 汉 迢 迢 暗 渡。
A Clouds float like works of art; Stars shoot with grief at heart. Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid.
Jīn fēng yù lù yì xiāng féng, biàn shèng què rén jiān wú shù
金 风 玉 露 一 相 逢， 便 胜 却 人 间 无 数。
When autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade, All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.
Róu qíng sì shuĭ, jiā qī rú mèng, rĕn gù què qiáo guī lù
柔 情 似 水，佳 期 如 梦，忍 顾 鹊 桥 归 路。
Their tender love flows like a stream; This happy date seems but a dream. Can they bear a separate homeward way?
Liăng qíng ruò shì jiŭ cháng shí, yòu qĭ zài zhāo zhāo mù mù
两 情 若 是 久 长 时，又 岂 在 朝 朝 暮 暮。
If love between both sides can last for aye,Why need they stay together night and day?
About the poem:
The poem praises the famous love between Niu Lang and Zhi Nv who is the seventh daughter of the heaven’s King. Their story is also the origin of Chinese Valentine’s Day” (七夕qīxī). They were separated by the galaxy and they can meet each other only once every year. The famous sentence 两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝 (liăng qíng ruò shì jiŭ cháng shí, yòu qĭ zài zhāo zhāo mù mù), shows the true meaning of love and it means that the two needn’t be physically together as long as they love each other deeply. Chinese people usually use it to describe a deep affection between separated lovers.
The poem name Immortals at the Magpie Bridge derives from the myth of the sincere love between the Cowboy (Niulang) and the Weaver (Zhinu), who are separated by the Heavenly Queen with the Milky Way and permitted to meet once a year at the bridge formed by the magpies. The poem borrows this traditional love story to express human‘s joys and sorrows.
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𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗺 ⸙༉
Poetry↬ 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 ☘︎ Ｈａｖｅ ａ ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ ｔｉｍｅ ｒｅａｄｉｎｇ ｔｈｅｍ！
